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「震撃の血槌」 (Shingeki no blood hammer)
“The Tremorous Blood Hammer”
Kekkai Sensen is developing a real swagger now.
I’m venturing gingerly back into anime with Blood Blockade Battlefront – it’s been a rough couple of days to say the least (food poisoning). I don’t know how coherent my thoughts are going to be, but this seems like a good show to tiptoe into the water with. Why? Because it’s quite visceral, as opposed to intellectual. It’s smart, don’t get me wrong, but Kekkai Sensen is really driven by the sensory experience of watching it (and listening to it). And what an experience it is.
There’s just so much star power here. Matsumoto Rie is a star director, even if she’s still young and relatively unknown. The cast is full of legendary seiyuu in roles that seem as if they were written for them. You can add to that list not just Miyano Mamoru and Fujiwara Keiji – which would be awesome enough – but sharing the same damn body. And the reason they are is Aligura (Koroogi Satomi), who’s ground up her beloved but ugly Deldro Brody (Fujiwara) into a bloody pulp and injected him into the bishie body of Dog Hummer (Miyano).
Koroogi’s name may not be a household word among younger anime viewers, bur she’s a bit of a legend in her own right, with a resume loaded with anime classics. She delivers the kind of brash, risky performance here that I think a less-established actor might not have the courage to deliver, and it’s really Aligura’s barely-contained lunacy that drives the episode. Is Aligura in fact one of the 13 Elders? I’m not absolutely sure, but it seems strongly implied. What’s for certain is that Klaus “stole” the Deldro-Dog composite from here, and she’s been rather anxious to get it back.
The anime-original storyline continues apace, as we have the rather interesting development of White’s “brother” (or whoever he may be) having a private meeting with Femt, back for the first time since the premiere. And it’s obvious they know each other very well, though less obvious what either of them have in-mind for the long game. Femt gave the impression in the premiere of being a troll, more or less, but not necessarily someone who wanted to bring about the apocalypse. Is it possible he and White’s brother might be trying to save humanity from the Elders?
In any event, it’s all a hell of a ride, as Kekkai Sensen usually is – though with the almost Mad Max styled first half perhaps a bit more literally than normal. For all her insanity Aligura does seem to have nudged the plot forward in kidnapping Leo seemingly for the sole purpose of talking about romance – she’s goaded him into asking White out on a “date”. That turns out to be yet another incredibly cool setting, the two of them watching a hackneyed “comedy” projected onto the side of a building, and it seems a genuine emotional bond is developing between White and Leo.
Preview
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White and ….? Leo right? XD I actually think their bond is being done pretty nice. It’s not too rushed but not snail paced slow either. I wonder if that’ll be a trend for future episodes. There’s the main thing going on, and a snippet of Leo and White’s side of the story.
The parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito’s “Twins” movie was pretty amusing to see. Certainly a comedy, but can also see how it would touch both Leo and White.
Kekkai Sensen continues to surprise me every week. The whole anime-only sub-plot was weaved in so seamlessly that as someone who only watched the anime, I can hardly tell it was anime-only material. I had little to no expectation for this show prior this season, but it has become my favorite. Can’t wait for next week!
https://randomc.net/image/Kekkai%20Sensen/Kekkai%20Sensen%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
My ship has set sail!
are us really have to do this ritual ?
can we skip anime where there girl and boy and we pair them for once
If anything, the seiyuus in this series are all A+++
I could listen to them all day long and doing nothing.
I heard Aligura’s seiyuu is a legend!
https://randomc.net/image/Kekkai%20Sensen/Kekkai%20Sensen%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2028.jpg
I see what I think you did there. Bravo good Sir, bravo! -_-
Aligura is <3
And damn those voice acting rocks
You cut off there at the end. Was that intentiona-
The highlight for me (besides the incredible voice acting from our new characters) was the deadpan delivery of how there were thousands of casualties from the raining shrapnel. This version of NYC sees (almost) as much routine destruction as the Marvel universe’s version!
I also love the old-school vibes this show gives me every week – I haven’t got this from a show in years, and this makes my cranky old bones happy 🙂
What a wonderfully bizarre way to advance a Romance!
I love it!
Leo deserves a prize, he advanced his romantic life by following the advice of a yandere!.
It’s the case of the psycho ex-girlfriend with a dash of mad super villain. Of course, she decided to upgrade Brody to a much more pleasing looking body in Hammer (sorry, I’m just used to the Dark Horse translated name). I feel sorry for Hammer, as he’s entirely innocent of the various crime Brody committed. The fact that the authority can’t just execute Brody is due to him sharing the same body as Hammer. So they tack on a couple of thousand years of sentence just to be on the safe side.
Show Spoiler ▼
“Is Aligura in fact one of the 13 Elders?”
From what I could gleam from the green text, she is one of the “13 Kings”, like Femt and the King of Despair. Since it’s written in a different way, I don’t think they are the Elder 13, just another group that happens to have 13 members, lol. If we want to keep the Marvel-verse analogies, I guess they are the Hellfire Club equivalent.
In the meantime, Nighthow asked (and obtained) for a creditless, endlessly looping version of both the opening and the ending videos to be included in the first two BDs/DVDs for the fans to enjoy. Guess he’s liking the anime too!
I really really think this is the best anime of the season!
The begining of the episode kinda reminded me of FLCL: well animated and fast-paced crazyness, i want more !!
Yes, the first part of this ep is extremely FLCL-influenced – the directorial style, the soundtrack, the Vespa. It’s obvious Matsumoto Rie is a big, big fan of that series – you can see it often both in this show and Kyousougiga.
This in my opinion is by far the best this season.
It has such an unhinged energy that presents itself in all sorts of mediums. The chess game for example reminds me of the potato chip from Death Note. Obviously the scenes are much different but the analogy works in that two seemingly terribly uninteresting events carry itself in such a strange yet engaging fashion.
This most recent episode was hilarious, exciting, and awesome. All these new characters are being weaved in seamlessly and fit in this bizarre world so well. They’re all incredibly fun, even if they are more passive. (Chain’s “good luck” was priceless.) The way they handled Leo’s date with White was great. Subtle development for each of their character, and dare I say it was pretty darn cute.
Love this show. This is even shaping up to be one of my favorite action-esque shounen shows this year. I hope to God it does well over in Japan because it deserves it as of now!
ShinpachixKa- Oh wait… I meant LEOxWHITE SHIP.
All i have to say is that this show is a damn blast to watch and listen to, it’s a delicious attack on the senses XD
Oh, and Aligura voice actress is insanely good and spunky, loved her voice so much, she makes the character work on so many levels.
That’s all, Over and out 😉
Just to clarify something if I missed it. Is White actually human? I know she said she was a ghost in the second episode, but it seems that she was speaking more figuratively than literally? It would seem she can openly communicate with the doctors at the hospital. The only thing that confused me was in the previous photos when she was staring at the picture from the graveyard that didn’t have her in it.
I don’t think it’s clear yet
In the OP and ED it seems lile they have some relation with that bad-ass looking vampire (who seems to be one antagonistic force this show). Maybe White is a vampire and her being a ghost is a way to say that she is already dead? Or maybe she was just playing around.
There is a theory floating around that her brother traded his body to one of the 13 Kings to save her life from some illness.
She may otherwise already be a dead woman.
Leo’s relationship with his sister, and their mutual protection of each other is a central theme of the original manga. The anime original siblings may be written to mirror that.
Wait is the start of episode one the ending of this season as well?
Dog Hummer/Deldro Brody reminds me of Venom/Carnage from Marvel.
The author is a fan of Marvel (to be exactly, he’s a fan of many western stuffs).
Brody and Hummer is definitely a shoutout to Symbiote. Nightow also made a shoutout to Venom long time ago in Trigun (A character called Monev)
Aligura’s voice makes me feel like a criminal for liking it.
Don’t worry dude, you are not the only one. :3
…. the anime diverges from the manga even at this point!? With an anime-original character??! With only 11 released episodes!? Man, no WONDER I seen so many fans switch to the manga instead!! This is inexcusable!